Bombay HC dismisses PIL against metro car shed at Aarey

MUMBAI: In a victory for the state, the Bombay high court on Friday dismissed a PIL challenging a Mumbai Metro car shed on 33 hectares of land at Aarey Colony in Goregaon.

A bench of Justices SC Dharmadhikari and PD Naik upheld the state’s decision to change the user of the land presently covered with trees to a metro car shed for the underground Mumbai Metro 3 line.

A PIL was filed by activist Amrita Bhattacharjee and others with tree activist Zoru Bathena supporting the fight to prevent Mumbai’s only large green Kung from being destroyed with few thousand trees slated to be cut and permission already granted for several hundreds to be cut.

The PIL has challenged a notifications dated August 24, 2017, and November 9, 2017 sanctioning part of the Development Plan 2034, by which the state and modified the classification of the land from Green Zone to Mumbai Metro 3 Car Depot in the city’s only large green oasis in the western suburb at Goregaon.

The Notification is illegal as it has been issued without first obtaining permission under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and issued without obtaining permission under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the activists argued. Besides no Development Control Regulations have been framed.

But the state has relied on its affidavit filed before a National Green Tribunal to argue that the land in question is not a forest or reserved as forest and hence the state’s actions were justified and legal.

The land, a green sprawl as large as four Oval Maidans, is a forest and invaluable to maintain ecological balance in the city, said the activists. It is not recorded officially anywhere as a forest, said the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd and the Maharashtra government.

The HC held that the state had imposed certain conditions and directed that the MMRCL must strictly abide by these conditions while constructing the car shed.
“We are not In a position to accept arguments made by activists counsel Janak Dwarkadas that Environment Protection Act (EPA) and Forest conservation act have been
given a go by while Issuing impugned notification while permitting change of user,” said the HC in a bulky judgment.

Dwarkadas also relied on o report of technical committee and project report of MMRCL to argue against the car shed’s location. The court said the concerns expressed by the committee are addressed by the state in its conditions.

“We perused documents of BMC in Marathi. BMC can’t be said to be disapproving of change or alteration of land,” said the HC after analysing the arguments of the petitioner that a BMC committee had raised concerns.

Commuter are not being ignored and this is apparent from conditions imposed by committee, the judges observed in the judgment.

“The modification is not unconditional. Neither notice allows free user as is projected before us,” the HC held.

“We have seen that the conditions rather safeguard the environment and ecology ,” said the HC directing that “no commercial user is permitted.”

“If any condition is violated then irrespective of construction carried out at the site the state government and BMC shall not be prohibited from exercising statutory powers particularly under MRTP Act and MMC act. They can refuse development permission in the event any violation of beach is noticed or can refuse permission for use of construction as car shed.,” the HC directed.

It also added that it was “not possible to deduce that land is a forest based on some amendment plans of this park,” said the Judgment. The lands have been transferred from the Aarey Milk colony to SGNP , it was argued.

“We have other material on record which would denote that the metro car Depot site forms part of Aarey Milk Colony and doesn’t form part of SGNP.,” the HC judgement said.

The MMRCL has to now ensure that trees above 10 feet high of native variety only be planted. The plantation be undertaken by professionals agencies only.

Annual audit by third part to be done and report posted on website with additional term that Mmrcl to maintain it for five years and ensure that damage if any caused to ecology and environment is mitigated by the plantation.

Nothing beyond total 33 hectares would be used for metro car shed. The HC also directed that underground water table shall not be disturbed by construction.

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